Let's Try This Again
by jim12321
Summary: What would have happened if Ben had spoken those words to Vestara-It could be. That she could be a Jedi. This takes place after Allies.
1. Chapter 1

**I wanted to try writing a fic after _Allies_. Also, I don't think I have never seen a Star Wars fic ever written in 1st person, so I decided to try it. It works better in my story that way, or at least I think so. Should I continue? I do have a plot thought up of, but I wanted to see what people think first.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing related of or to Star Wars. **

As Vestara and I walked back toward _Jade Shadow_, I wondered why the Sith, and Vestara's father in particular, had not challenged my father of Vestara's freedom. I wished they had. I would have rather taken a battle with the Sith than having her playing on my growing affections for her. And now, I reflected as I was carrying Dyon with Vestara right next to him, I had to treat her wounds and watch over her back at the _Shadow_. The worst thing that she had left me feeling, the thing that had rattled me to the very core, was the feeling I had felt from her as I was leaving her behind to go help my father before I had shut her out, the feeling of pain and resolution mixed with _regret _at the fact that she had hurt me deeply. She regretted doing it, and as a Jedi I was supposed to forgive anyway- after all I had even forgiven Jacen - and I supposed I could, but one thing I wasn't sure I could ever give her was my _trust_, as I wouldn't be able to do with any Sith. I used to think there was a chance before she tried to trick me into letting my father be killed by her father, but now I just wasn't sure.

"Ben, where are you going? The _Shadow_ is right here," Vestara called to me.

I only just now realized I had been walking past it while I was thinking. "Oh. Yeah." I stepped back and input the access codes into the _Shadow_. We walked up the ramp and through the corridors of the ship in an awkward silence. Thankfully, it was disturbed when Dyon stirred from my arms.

"Mmmf," Dyon groaned.

Vestara and I exchanged glances when he stirred. I saw the pain in her eyes as she was clutching her stomach and I looked away. _Gotta stay focused. She's a Sith. She's a Sith. I got to remember she's evil._ I kept repeating those words to myself, even though they even sounded hollow in my own thoughts.

We arrived at the sick bay and I sat Dyon down in a bed. Vestara sat down on the bed next to him. I hooked Dyon into an IV and walked over to a cupboard to get some bandages for Vestara. Attempting to break the once again awkward silence between them, Vestara said, "Guess you're getting used to doing this now, huh?" and attempted a weak laugh.

I wouldn't be trapped though. I just ignored her comment and continued rummaging through the cupboards. She sighed very softly, thinking I wouldn't hear it, but I just barely did. I tried to draw some satisfaction from hurting her, but I couldn't. I didn't like hurting her, and I knew it.

After I had gathered all the materials on the table, I put the bandage in the vial with the bacta and let it soak for a couple minutes. I removed it and handed them to Vestara. There was no telling what would happen if _I_ put the bandages on her. I did not just think that!

She put them on and sealed them up. She winced as the cool bandages hit her. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from wincing with her. What was wrong with me? Since when did I start caring about her so much whenever she's hurt or in danger? Oh. That's right. Since I met her.

She finished tying the bandages on herself and looked at me expectantly. I took in a deep breath and said, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go tell Jaina and Lando their orders." The calmness of my voice surprised me. Then I left.

As I was walking to the cockpit, I wondered why she let me sense her hurt. She had been open with her feelings before because she used them against me. But now… why would she still use them? She obviously must realize I knew she didn't like me. I did not see any real reason to continue to use them since she had already tried to perpetrate her deception. But maybe... I had no more time to ponder this further as I flipped open a channel to Jaina and Lando.

**Good? Bad? Terrible? Please tell me in a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, so I decided to do the rest in 3****rd**** person. I think that the first chapter needed 1****st**** person for the story development, but I think should do 3****rd**** for the rest. I'll still go into their thoughts so I can develop it right, but after this first part, I'll try to do it less.**

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned Star Wars, I wouldn't be writing crappy fanfics now would I?**

Ben continued to think about Vestara again as he started walking back to the sick bay. He couldn't push her out of his mind. It didn't help that they were practically alone on the ship. Sure, Dyon was there, but he was unconscious. It wasn't likely that he would wake up too soon.

_So,_ Ben thought, _she actually could like me. But wait, what if she's just trying to get me to trust her again? Then why would she try not to let me sense her hurt? She really must like me!_ Ben's heart fluttered at the realization. _Then if she does like me, it's time for some changes. Up until now, she has been using my feelings, and I thought she was pretending to like me. Obviously to try to turn me. But now, since she saw I cannot be turned, she must realize she can't use them anymore. So let's see if I can try to use her feelings for me to turn _her_. I never thought any of Jacen's dark training could actually help me._ He attempted a hollow snort.

Ben decided the best way to try to do this would be to throw her off. She probably thought he was angry with her, and if he disproved that, he could judge and make sure she still wasn't trying to use him. So, he went and grabbed a couple of meals and a third for Dyon when he woke up.

Ben walked back into the sick bay. Vestara looked at Ben and asked, "What happened?"

"They jumped out of the system." _Took some persuasion too_, Ben mentally added.

"Here," Ben said, handing her the meal. She looked at it for a split second, surprised, and that was all Ben needed to tell that she had thought he was still angry with her.

Then she took it out of his hands a little too quickly. Ben put a meal down on the table next to Dyon for when he woke up. Then they ate in silence.

"You know, you don't have to watch me. I can take care of myself," Vestara said indifferently. She clearly didn't know how to handle this situation. Something was up. Ben decided to press his advantage.

"Yeah, but what if Dyon woke up and he was still crazy," Ben said jokingly. "He could slit your throat."

Vestara cracked a small smile and played along. "Oh no, he wouldn't be able to. In his world, what he would think is me is that box," she said, pointing at a box in the corner.

Ben let a small laugh escape his mouth. "Yeah, and then I would come in to find him trying to kiss a cupboard."

Vestara started cracking up at this. "Only then, he would realize you are Abeloth and start trying to kiss _you._"

They both started laughing really hard at this, and Ben almost fell off his chair he was laughing so much.

"And, and then," Ben tried to say in between laughter, "I would say, 'I'm sorry, Dyon, I don't love you anymore.'"

They both started laughing so much they didn't even hear Dyon the first time. The second time, Dyon said it a little louder, "What are you talking about loving me anymore Ben?" His face was priceless, showing terror, disgust, surprise, and anger all in one.

When they saw his face, they laughed even more, and Ben fell of his chair he was laughing so much. They laughed even more after he fell off.

When they finally calmed down, Ben got back in his chair. He looked at Dyon, who had a look that said, "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing," Ben said, smiling.

"Ok," he held the k, unconvinced. "What happened with Abeloth? The last thing I remember was seeing you."

"Dad beat her," he said, unable to hide the pride in his voice. Dyon could figure it out for himself that they were still allied.

"Phew. I thought I was gonna die. Umm Ben?" he asked, pointing to the IV attached to himself.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure," he said as he started taking it off of him. "Sorry, I had no idea how long you would be out." He finished disconnecting the IV and got up and placed it back in a cupboard. When he turned around and walked back he said to Dyon, "There is a meal on the table next to you."

"Thanks."

"Here, Ves, I'll take your dishes," he said, holding his hand out.

"Sure," she said, handing him the plates.

He took his own and walked back out of the sick bay.

The second Ben left the sick bay, Vestara tried to get her thoughts in order. What the hell was she doing? She had originally planned to keep her feelings at bay by trying to make him angry, but for some reason that didn't work and she got swept up in the moment. He was so easy to lose her focus with. She just lost her objective when they talked, and it only made her like him all the more. It would make it all the harder for when they would have to be torn apart. Didn't he understand that? Why couldn't he just realize that? There was obviously no chance of him turning dark; he had proven that in the most strenuous of circumstances. He had stood against her father's words as if they helped him stay with the light. Since there was no chance of them being together, why couldn't they just ignore each other until they were torn apart so it wouldn't hurt as much? She had to strengthen her resolve again so that she wouldn't lose herself in the moment when he came back. They couldn't let themselves grow any closer if she ever hoped to return to the Tribe. With that in mind, she sat back and steeled herself for when he would walk back through the door.

**Sorry for the kind of cliffhanger. As a reader, I absolutely hate cliffhangers no matter how small they are. I just wanted to end the chapter there. I'll see if I can update again today. And, don't forget to review. It's those little underlined words in blue next to a yellowish dialogue box.**


	3. Chapter 3

**The main idea of this story is in this chapter. It's pretty easy to find, even though I reworded it somewhat.**

**DISCLAIMER: I wish I owned Star Wars, sadly I do not.**

Ben started walking back when Dyon met him. "Dyon? What are you doing out of bed? You need rest," Ben said.

"I need to deal with my dishes," Dyon responded, holding them up for him to see. "And, I am going to let you two have some time. I think you got her. Her facial expression changed three or four times while I was eating. She obviously is trying hard to go against it," Dyon said, smiling. "Go get her."

Ben blushed. He was about to say, "What are you talking about?" when Dyon said, "I know more than you think. Just because I can't manipulate the Force doesn't mean I'm blind. I see how you look at her."

Ben blushed again. He debated whether or not to tell Dyon that he _could_ manipulate the Force, but he decided against it. They would have time for that later. They had enough on their plate with this alliance anyway.

Ben continued walking back to the sick bay. When Vestara saw him, she had to make a physical effort not to stare. She was just barely able to steel herself enough. Ben came over and sat next to her.

"You know, you don't have to sit here. I'm sure it's much more comfortable in your quarters," she said quietly, trying not to hurt him but also to gently push him away.

"Maybe so, but I'd much rather sit here where I have company," Ben said, keeping control. He was prepared for this and was able to keep his voice level.

Vestara, on the other hand, was not. She thought she would be able to keep herself in control after she prepared herself, but it still was affecting her despite her resistance. While before she was just trying to look disinterested with her eyes half open, now she snapped her eyes open and looked at Ben without realizing it. Her heart started beating faster. _Stop it. I can't do this,_ she thought.

_What's wrong with it?_

_Everything. _

_Why?_

_Because we will have to part eventually. _

_Why can't you just enjoy it while it lasts? He obviously isn't going to give up._

Vestara could not find fault in that last thought. He wasn't going to leave her alone, so she might as well make the most of it.

Ben stirred under her gaze. He misinterpreted her look and shifted uncomfortably in his chair and asked, "What's wrong? Can't you have friends in the Sith sit next to you?"

"Yes, we can," she said, trying really hard not to blush. That one made Vestara's heart beat so fast she was sure he could hear it. But whether he could hear it or not, he just plowed on, oblivious to the emotional turmoil he was causing her.

"Oh, so you can have friends. I thought for a while that you would never let me," he said, visibly relaxing.

Vestara smiled. She would have to skirt around this issue if he brought it up, and he knew it so he just tried to do it for her. "Yeah, Ben, I decided to let you in," she said without realizing she said it.

Ben smiled back. "What, do you have some sort of secret clique that only your closest friends are allowed in?" he asked amusedly.

Vestara held her hands up mock-defensively. "No, it's not–" she stopped abruptly and closed down.

Ben let out an exasperated sigh. He thought they were past this. He was so close, and now he was never further. He took in a deep breath and decided to do it. He was so sick of this; it's time to confront it head on, why she closes down like this. "What's wrong Ves?" He decided to start as if something made her close down. They both knew that he knew very well why she did, but this would be the best way to start.

"Nothing," she retorted.

"Come on, Ves," he said, dropping the act. "I can tell something's bothering you."

Vestara remained silent looking away from him. He tried to look into her eyes, but she avoided his gaze.

"Why can't you just tell me what's wrong? Just let go of your suspicions." Ben said.

"I wish I could Ben," she responded softly, looking into his eyes. "But I can't. I'm a Sith." She dropped her gaze at the last words.

Before he knew what he was doing, Ben uttered the words, "You don't have to be."

**Ok, last chapter was nothing compared to this as a cliffhanger. Sorry it's so short, but I just really wanted to end the chapter here. Plus, I am having a little of writers' block. But hey, at least I posted it twice in the same day. Sorry if they are OOC here. I kinda think they are, but maybe not. I don't know. Review please. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. I promise it will be longer.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: These are pretty annoying, so I'll just say it now. I won't say it again, so listen. I AM NOT GEORGE LUCAS AND DON'T OWN STAR WARS.**

The second Ben spoke the words, he instantly regretted it. There was no way she would ever even consider it. She would always be a Sith and nothing could change that. She had even been taking advantage of him until a little while ago. She wouldn't just up and change her beliefs all of a sudden. He mentally slapped himself. That was so stupid. What had made him do that? He couldn't stop himself from speaking them, as if his mouth had a mind of its own. Then that's it. He had scared her off before she was ready, and now there was no chance she would join the light.

But, she showed no indication that any of this was happening to her. Instead, she lowered her gaze and said, almost whispering, "I have never thought of that, Ben."

That shocked Ben. He had no idea that she would actually listen to him and take it to heart. His heart jumped for joy and got stuck in his throat. Even if he could, he had no idea what to say to that. Instead he just sat there quietly. Vestara's hand fell off the bed. Ben took it without thinking and squeezed it and held it there. She looked up and smiled at him meaningfully. He found himself smiling back at her.

Ben hoped that this moment could last forever, just looking into Vestara's eyes and holding her hand.

"Guys?" Sadly, the moment couldn't last forever. They immediately retracted both their hands as if they had acid on them. Ben looked up to see Dyon staring them down with an unreadable face. His Force aura emanated affirmation. When Ben glanced at Vestara he saw she was blushing too.

"Luke said he was coming back. It's time to leave the planet."

A noise sounded from the direction of the ramp.

"I guess he's coming in," Dyon said. "I'll go greet him."

After a moment, Ben said, "Go ahead." It would be better to take advantage of his time with Vestara to the fullest. His father would make sure they wouldn't be in the same room alone again. He wouldn't be able to hide anything from his father through their Force bond. He got lucky that Dyon did let him be with Vestara. But maybe if he told his father what was going on with her he might have a chance.

Ben looked at Vestara and she looked back, staring at each other as if they were about to die. He heard footsteps coming from the hallway and he reluctantly tore his gaze from Vestara to look at his father. They must have stared at each other longer than they had thought.

"Come on, Ben," Luke said. "I need some help starting up the ship." He gestured for me to follow him to the cockpit. "I'll tell you what's going on while we're in hyperspace."

"Ok," Ben responded and followed him through the ship, leaving Dyon and Vestara behind. He knew well enough that his father didn't _need_ his help in starting the ship, he just wanted it. More importantly, he wanted to talk to him. Ben followed him into the cockpit.

They walked into the cockpit and sat down and initiated the start-up sequence. Ben was surprised that his father hadn't said anything yet. He decided to speak first. "Ok, dad, I know you called me here for a reason. What is it?"

Luke smiled and said, "A bit impatient are we?"

Ben grimaced. He didn't need a lesson in patience _now_.

"Ok, fine, here's what I think," Luke said. Ben looked at him. "I think that what you are doing is fine. Just don't let her know anything unless you are absolutely certain she can be trusted."

This stunned Ben. Again. The second thing someone had said to him in less than an hour that had left him speechless. His hands were frozen on the controls. He barely managed to whisper out a word. "What?"

"You heard me. As long as you don't reveal anything, I think it would be ok. I have actually been thinking about this for a while now. I think I can conclude that it's harmless by now. I haven't let you up until now because I haven't wanted to see you hurt."

_Even though it has already happened,_ Ben mentally added.

"Yes, but I think that's over now," Luke said, reading Ben's thoughts. "Judging from what Dyon said, she cares about you now, and she isn't going to hurt you anymore.

"Since when was Dyon able to tell what Vestara is thinking?" Ben said louder than necessary. Despite the circumstances, Ben found that he was actually jealous that Dyon could tell this while he couldn't.

"Relax, Ben. He was watching you guys the whole time. Don't you remember that we installed cameras in the sick bay? You were holding hands longer than you thought."**AN just go with it**

"Oh yeah," Ben said, futilely trying to hide the blush creeping onto his face. _Of course_ his father had to find out about that.

His father finished the start-up sequence and said, "Go tell them to strap in. I'll be back to talk about the situation as soon as we're in hyperspace."

Ben nodded and walked away.

**Ok, I know I promised to write a longer chapter, but I just am not good at that. I feel like I had to end it here. I'll update again sometime this week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I updated in a day. Say hooray. That rhymed. I didn't mean it to. Anyway, focus jim. Get ready for Vestara POV. Also, lines don't transfer from Word, so I used an explanation. You'll see what I mean. Go on, read. You know you want to. (Also review? Please?)**

When Ben came back into the sick bay, his mood had lightened dramatically, from as if he was expecting execution to being completely at peace. This surprised Vestara; she had sensed the bond between the Skywalkers and would have assumed that his father would be angry for letting her get too close. Of course, she was still surprised about what Ben had told her, but she would have to analyze it carefully at a later date. This smelled suspicious to her instincts.

_Maybe it's not a trap_, her evermore escaping heart whispered.

She told her heart to shut up and tried and failed to lock it up again. It only served to lurch further when Ben came back to stand next to her.

"Luke said we are going to hyperspace soon – so strap in. He said he'd tell us about the plans when we're in hyperspace," he said to Vestara. A look of confusion crossed his face. "Wh- Where's Dyon?" he asked.

"How should I know?" Vestara snapped instinctually. Finally, she had found a way to push him away, but she regretted doing it immediately.

"Jeez, just asking a question," he said, holding his hands up, showing hurt in his eyes for a split second before it was hidden. She felt a hard pang in the pit of her stomach. She tried to convince herself it was just some pains from her injuries, but she was failing miserably.

"Well, he isn't here," Vestara said simply, trying not to hurt him again.

"I guess I'll go look for him," Ben said, turning to leave her behind a little quicker than necessary.

After he left, Vestara tried to close her eyes and immerse herself in the dark side to calm herself and heal her aching heart, but found it was getting harder and harder to do, and she didn't know why.

I am now switching back to Ben's 3rd POV? That how you say it in Star Wars? Whatever, this is following Ben rest of the chapter. Sorry for the change in mid-chapter.

Ben was annoyed with Vestara. Just when he thought he had made a huge breakthrough with her, she pushed him away. Hard. It didn't matter now though, he had to go get Dyon and bring him to the sick bay to hear Luke when they got into hyperspace. He looked through a few rooms at random. Since the _Shadow_ wasn't that big, he only looked in three rooms before he found him.

"Dyon? Come on; come with me to the sick bay. We're going to hyperspace soon, and Luke wants us all in the same room when he talks to us about the plan. We'll all strap in there," Ben found it hard to say the words because he had to be in the same room with Vestara, possibly for a while. Why did she have to be so difficult?

Dyon must have noticed the slight stutter in his voice because he said, "Did something happen?" _Yeah. Great question, _Ben thought before he realized that he was talking about their overall situation. He mentally slapped himself for his ignorance.

After a slight pause, Ben said, "I don't know. He said he would tell us when we went to hyperspace."

Dyon got up and followed him out the door. Off-handedly, Ben asked him, "Why weren't you in the sick bay anyway?"

"I knew Luke would tell you that I was watching. So, I hid in case you were angry," he said in a cautious tone, searching Ben's face for any sign of anger.

Ben smiled lightly at what had occurred not even fifteen minutes ago, and then grimaced at their current status. "It's fine," Ben said.

Dyon visibly relaxed. They came into the sick bay and saw that Vestara was already strapped into a chair. Unwilling to sit next to her, Ben moved to the seat across from her. Dyon sat next to him and strapped in as well.

Dyon tried to break the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them. "So," he started carefully, knowing that he was talking with two trained – but moody – teenagers. He sensed the tension between them and tried to find something to ease it. It was quite hard for him to find a topic to talk about, since it was likely they wouldn't agree on much, and they both knew little about the others' worlds. And worse, all they had done together was based on treachery and deception. He regretted starting it, but he couldn't go back now. He finally just decided to say, "I wonder where we're going."

Vestara decided to try for it and shrugged, "Maybe to see where the evidence on Abeloth leads us." There was the slightest hint of an undertone of a stutter in her voice, but Ben just decided it must be the way she was sitting. As much as it hurt his heart to think it, he realized that she wouldn't care what he did, no matter what she would try to push him away.

Ben said, "Maybe."

Then Luke's voice sounded from the intercom. "Is everyone strapped in?"

Everyone said yes. Then there was a lurch, and they were in hyperspace.

**This chapter was pretty fun and easy, except for trying to find something for Dyon to talk about that wouldn't be tentative between Vestara and Ben. It was very hard to find! I mean, really, all he had to pick from were their hurting each others' close ones, betraying each other (Mostly Vestara), and nothing either would know about. I know there's that one moment in **_**Allies**_** where Ben tells her jokes, but I didn't want to pretend Dyon would ever think that in such a situation. Next chapter, I'll go over 'the plan.'**


	6. Chapter 6

A few moments later Luke came back to the sick bay. Seeing everyone was already unstrapped and waiting, Luke immediately began to speak. "Ok, so we have decided that we need to investigate Pyrdyr, the current Fallanassi home planet. There is evidence to suggest that they were the closest species to her, as well as they have some of her abilities. Dyon, do you mind joining us?" he asked, even though he had no choice in the matter. Dyon nodded anyway. In response to Ben's questioning look, Luke sent him a look that said, _I already told Han and Leia_. Ben raised an eyebrow. _Jaina and Lando were probably already in hyperspace_. The 'probably' hung on Ben's mind. He couldn't help but get the feeling they were in trouble. He shook it off.

Vestara and Dyon, oblivious to this subliminal conversation, just looked at Luke expectantly. Luke took in a deep breath and continued. "High Lord Talon and Saber Khai are expected to join us. That's all. You should probably get some rest on the way. It'll take about sixteen hours." Luke looked at Vestara and sensed the renewed tension in the air between her and his son. He was sick of always trying to deal with these things. Things would work out. He sensed something stirring deep in Vestara. Now if only they could learn to get along. Suppressing a sigh, he went to his room. _"Teenagers,"_ he muttered under his breath as he left.

…

When Luke left, an idea formed in Dyon's head. They would have to make up this way. Standing up, he yawned and said, "Well, I'm tired. I'm gonna go turn in." He smiled devilishly at Ben as he walked out the door.

Seeing Dyon's rapid exit, Vestara asked, "Did he just–"

"Ditched us," Ben interrupted. "Yup."

"Oh," Vestara said softly.

They sat there in an almost comfortable silence for a moment.

Finally, Vestara said, "Well, as much as I like sitting doing nothing, I am gonna rest up. I still have these wounds." She gestured to her bandages

She started to lie down, but before she did, Ben said, looking at the ground, "I think it would help if you were in a healing trance."

She sat up and said, "A what?"

"A healing trance. It helps heal wounds and restore energy at an accelerated rate," he continued, looking at Vestara now. He didn't care that she would probably just use him; he would take whatever he could get. "I could show you how if you like."

Vestara nodded eagerly.

"Ok then. Sit down," he said, gesturing to the ground in front of him he was now sitting on. She did, and he continued. "First, you have to completely relax. Think happy thoughts."

Vestara did so, focusing on only Ben's voice. Weeks ago, she would have found this extremely challenging, but now, due to whatever cause, she found it much easier.

"Next, reach out to the Force with your mind."

Vestara knew how to do this very well, but never in such a relaxed state. So she had to try it, tentatively at first and then was just able to reach it. When she touched it, she found it warm and comforting. At first she drew back, she had never experienced this sort of feeling in the Force.

Noticing her hesitation, Ben said, "That's right, keep doing that."

Vestara went back and continued it, taking note of how good this feels.

"All right, now immerse yourself in it."

In seconds, both Ben and Vestara had entered their trances.

Neither of them realized that Vestara was drawing on the light side, and she found it easier than ever.

**I updated twice in one night… even though they are ridiculously short chapters. Oh well.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I just read Vortex and found to my happiness I was off in character development mostly in Vestara – showing her personality too much. Spoiler (slight) alert. In the book, she mostly follows orders, and there were other orders I didn't even know she had that were revealed there. So I'm just gonna pretend they didn't exist. Other than that, I was fine (kind of). Anyway, while I was waiting to get it, I wrote on paper another chapter. Also: I guess this would be considered an alternate path since the story is mostly different.**

For the first time since before his father's exile, Ben rested completely at peace. He had no idea why, and instead just decided it was because Abeloth was finally dead. He came out of his trance to see that Vestara was still within hers. While she was resting, she looked so normal, so peaceful… _Snap out of it Ben!_ He shook his head.

He got up and checked his chrono. They were still at least five hours away from Pydyr. Ben went to the galley and went to get some food. He rummaged through the cupboards, and decided on a nerf-hide steak. He heated it up and took it. But before he left, he impulsively grabbed a smoothie for Vestara. He told himself that it was because she was under their care and they needed to feed her to honor their agreement, but she wouldn't need it coming out of a healing trance. Then again, when Ben came out, he was still hungry, and maybe she would be too.

When he came back Vestara was just emerging from her trance. Ben handed him her smoothie. Responding to her quizzical look, he said, "What, just because you're our prisoner doesn't mean you can't eat."

Noticing the size of Ben's steak, she said, "Wow, you eat a lot."

Ben blushed when he realized she hadn't needed the smoothie, but distracted himself from the thought by saying, "Yeah, well, I eat when I'm hungry," Ben said. _Brilliant. What is wrong with me?_

"You get hungry pretty often," she remarked with a level tone.

They sat and Ben ate while Vestara sipped her smoothie. Then, the ship suddenly shook violently. His back was hunched over, so when the ship shook, he fell an inch from her face. He stayed there a split second extra before he quickly pulled back "S- Sorry," he said, blushing deeply. For a moment they forgot the situation, and he noticed that Vestara was slightly blushing too.

Their daze was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. They looked up to see Luke come running in from the corridor and said, "Come on, we need to get to the cockpit. Something pulled us out of hyperspace."

Ben and Vestara nodded and ran to follow him. A bit behind them Dyon was following. When they got to the cockpit, Luke ran to the pilot's seat, Ben to the copilot's, and Vestara to the navigator's.

Luke immediately swept the immediate area, and saw nothing. Then he tried on a broader range and still picked up nothing. He reached out in the Force and sensed nothing in the surrounding area, and instead tried to sense the inside of the ship for danger. He felt something coming from the hyperdrive chamber and engine block. Ben sensed it too, and had to restrain himself from glaring at Vestara. Luke said to Vestara, "Go check the engine block. Be on your guard." He didn't have to tell them what happened; they saw it on their readouts too. Ben decided not to ask about it yet. "Ben, come with me to the engine block."

They left to their destinations. Once they were a bit into the ship and he was sure Vestara couldn't hear, Ben said to his dad, "Are you sure you should just let her leave? She's probably the one who sabotaged the ship."

"No, Ben, it wasn't her," Luke replied calmly.

"Then who else? Dyon?" Ben asked. He didn't mean to question his Dyon, but he had to wonder.

"Sort of. I'll tell you in a minute. We're here." He cut Ben off before he could say "What" by opening the door to the chamber.

They were greeted by a spider-like thing about the size of a womp rat that had enough tools to break in and take the ship apart. Which, presumably, it did and was before Luke sliced it into two pieces.

"Go get Vestara and come to the cockpit. We need to hurry. Also, flush this out the airlock," Luke said.

"Ok," Ben said, picking up the pieces, throwing them into the airlock and hit the flush button. He turned on his heel to run to the engine block. He went inside and saw another droid in more pieces. He saw Vestara and gathered them up and did the same. "Come on. We need to get to the cockpit."

They both ran quickly to the cockpit. When they came in, Ben asked, "Ok, so how did they get on board?"

"Dyon," Luke said. "He just left in the Headhunter. I let him out because Abeloth – she somehow survived – was still controlling him. She must have survived, it's the only way."

"How did you know? And why aren't you worried?" Vestara asked.

"I've known it since I met him on the ramp. The way he acted, and _asking_ me if he could take a break, plus he should have been out far longer than that. I put a tracking device on all the escape ships," Luke said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ben asked, surprised.

"You probably would have given it away once you knew. I needed to know why she was still controlling him. I figured that she wasn't being as careful as she could, and she wanted us to know she was leading us into a trap. She really wants us to go though, otherwise she wouldn't have let us. And since I'm not sensing any danger, I think it is more a clue on her history, or something like that." Ben was surprised that his father was revealing so much to Vestara, but then again, they needed to pool their knowledge about her now more than ever. That's why I didn't do too much until now." That wasn't quite true of course, Luke had extensively prepared for the battle he knew was coming ahead, as well as placing multiple trackers on the headhunter. He would miss his wife's old modified ship, but he had to beat Abeloth, and this might the only way to find her again.

"Oh," Ben and Vestara said.

"Come on now, let's follow him in," Luke said, turning the ship to follow him. Vestara and Ben nodded and watched as Dyon Stadd was flying at breakneck speed toward… _nothing_.

"Where does he think he's going? Has Abeloth driven him insane?" Ben asked.

Luke was just about to say, wait, we will see, when the _nothing_ started firing turbolaser volleys at him. Dyon desperately weaved and bobbed, but even a pilot at his skill with Force awareness and Abeloth controlling him, he was no match for tens of Force-enhanced turbolaser salvos. In a flash of light, the headhunter was gone, and Dyon's life winked out.

All three of them gaped in shock, confusion, and horror at the explosion of Dyon's death.

**There. An actual cliffhanger that makes you want more. Still short chapter, but longer than normal. I know this chapter wasn't that great, but I'm just not too good at the tension stuff… unless if I leave this for two months… don't worry, I'm not that evil. The next chapter will be up in the week.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Does in the 11 PM Saturday night count as within the week?**

The initial feeling Luke felt was shock, turning to sadness, then a pang of loss. That had been one of the links to his deceased wife. He was also the first one to recover from the feelings, and in a few seconds had opened a comm channel.

Ben blinked as if he were coming out of a trance, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Well, I don't think the _Shadow_ has the firepower to take that on, especially when we can't even see it," Luke responded. "So that's our only option."

Ben had to agree with that. Judging from the amount of turbolaser fire that had come from that… _thing_, whatever it was, they didn't stand a chance of taking it on as they were. So he just decided to say, "Who do you think they are?"

"I think I have an idea," Luke said.

When Luke failed to elaborate, Ben and Vestara both said, "Who?"

"You'll find out. They're hailing us." Luke hit a button, and immediately began to talk. "I am Luke Skywalker. Why did you fire on my Headhunter?"

"Luke? Is that you?" For a moment, Luke's surprised resonated in the Force, and then realized that he shouldn't have been surprised. She _was_ the current leader.

"Akanah," Luke said. He would have greeted her warmly if she hadn't just killed Dyon. The reason why he wasn't trying to get away from her ship was that he would already be dead if she wanted him dead. The question was, as Luke deadpanned her, "Why did you fire on my Headhunter?"

"Sorry, Luke. We tried to contact it to tell it to veer off; it was about to crash into our ship. But we had to destroy it, or else it would have killed a lot of us." Then her voice softened. "There wasn't anybody on board, was there?"

Luke narrowed his eyes. First, there was no way she could not have known anybody was on board, she was in touch with the White Current, a way of the Force, so she would have felt Dyon's death as well as he had. Second, she should have contacted him first; she could have seen his ship just as well. Third, and most important, it wasn't their _nature_. Fallanassi are pacifists, and they would have swerved out of the way before killing another life-form. Since Dyon was heading toward that ship, and, apparently was about to crash into it, that meant that Abeloth must either be on that ship distorting the Fallanassis' judgment, or close by the it and doing it. "Yes." Better for them to think that he wasn't on to Abeloth. If he said no, well, Abeloth would know he wasn't _that_ stupid and still think that Dyon was on the ship. Better to leave her with the assumption that he thought Dyon was about to go to hyperspace.

"Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry," the tone in her voice sounded extremely concerned. At least he knew Abeloth didn't have to say that. Akanah would have said that anyway.

"It's alright. I would have done the same in your position." Luke grimaced; he _wouldn't_ have done the same in her position, not in a million years.

"Thank you Luke," she said, sounding relieved. _That_, Abeloth would have had to force Akanah to say.

"Can we come aboard, our hyperdrive is damaged, and we don't have the parts to fix it."

"Anything for the savior of our people," she said in a mock serious tone. At least Abeloth hadn't taken all of her. "Sure, come aboard in airlock three." Some specific docking instructions appeared on the tactical display, and Luke punched them in.

"Thanks," Luke said, and broke the connection. He took a moment to familiarize himself with the White Current again in case if he would need to use it.

Ben burst out first, "What is going on?"

Luke had completely forgotten most of this would be above Ben and Vestara's heads. He inhaled deeply and said, "Well, that voice I was talking to was Akanah, and she is a Fallanassi. That is also why we couldn't see, sense, or detect the ship. The Fallanassi were using an illusory technique they have."

Ben thought for a moment and then said, "Are you sure we have time for this? I mean, we have the parts here, and we need to analyze where Dyon was going. The coordinates would have been sent in from the Headhunter."

Ben turned to look at the ship's messages, but before he could, Luke stopped him, saying, "No. Abeloth is in the area."

"But there were coordinates input into the Headhunter," Ben interrupted; now looking at the message. Vestara had an annoyed look on her face that said "How could you interrupt your father?" but said nothing. She had been hoping they wouldn't follow Abeloth any further, so she could get away from Ben and her conflicting feelings about him and back to the her people.

"Ben, think about it for a second. The Fallanassi would have sensed a life-form on the ship, should have contacted me, and never would've fired on a life-form in their right minds. Abeloth is controlling them. The turbolasers didn't come from right in front of him; they were off to the side. So, we take her bait and follow him to his planned random destination and exhaust every dead end there, and we have no chance when we come back into this area of finding her. Plus, why else are the Fallanassi in space?"

"But… How did she get out here?" Vestara asked.

"Ship must have healed," Luke decided on. There was another very good possibility, but Vestara would not believe it. She could not believe it. That the Sith were being manipulated by Abeloth. That could be the reason they hadn't gotten pulled out of hyperspace too.

The ship finally reached the airlock with a slight clank, and Luke said, "Well, I guess we're here. Let's go," he said, unbuckling his crash webbing.

**Luke has most of the plot of the next few chapters figured out. Is he too smart? Or is Abeloth too dumb? Please tell me, this chapter Luke felt pretty OOC. Did he figure things out too fast, even for him? Review please and tell me.**


	9. Chapter 9

The airlock door opened with a _hiss_. Luke stepped forward first and talked to Akanah, who was waiting for them. "Come on, Luke, I'll show you where the parts are," Ben heard Akanah say. He could even hear the edge to her voice, as if the words were forced. Abeloth wasn't _that_ dumb. She _had_ to know that they knew she was there. The question was: Why? There didn't seem to be a real reason for her to nearly announce, 'I am on this ship. Please come and kill me.' A trap, maybe, but why hadn't she killed them already?

"Ben, Vestara, stay back on the ship. I'll bring the parts in; get the hyperdrive ready for them. I can carry them just fine. I can go back for the rest, there isn't that much of a hurry," Luke said. Ben understood it to mean, "I am going to go see what Abeloth is up to; fix the hyperdrive while I'm gone. I'll be fine, don't come after me. If Abeloth wanted us dead, she would've already killed us."

"Ok," Ben said. Apparently Vestara was able to catch the gist of it, because she followed Ben back into the ship.

After the airlock shut, she said, "Are you sure we should let your dad fight Abeloth alone? She already almost killed him once."

"He wouldn't have almost died if it wasn't for you, and yes, he'll be fine," Ben said. Vestara's face remained impassive, but he continued on. "She could've killed us already if she wanted to. And, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be overwhelmed by her without being able to contact us."

"Fine. Then why _did_ she take us here?" Vestara asked.

For a long while, Ben remained silent, their footsteps echoing across the corridor. When he finally answered, he said, "I don't know." Vestara smiled triumphantly. "But I do know that we _will_ need to fix the hyperdrive to get out of here. And," he added, looking at Vestara, "I don't think we want to stay here, no matter what plans you have gotten."

"Plans? Me?" Vestara said, waving her arms in the air, drawing a scowl from Ben.

They got to the hyperdrive chamber. Ben walked up closer to inspect it, with Vestara looking closely over his shoulder. It turned out the damage wasn't as bad as he had thought. Abeloth clearly hadn't intended to keep them here for long. It didn't even need any parts. So, all Ben had to do was connect a couple of wires again. That made more sense than them losing parts, though; they wouldn't have just pulled out of hyperspace if they had lost a part. The ship might have blown up if they had.

He looked back at Vestara. For a moment he sensed horror in her Force aura. Then, as quickly as it had come, she had forced it down again. "What was that?" Ben asked. If anything could make Vestara reveal her true emotions so openly, it was something he needed to be very concerned about.

"Nothing. I thought I saw a spider," she said evenly.

"Really, Ves? You're going with that? What's the real problem?" Ben asked.

"Nothing. Do you sense anything wrong? No? I thought so."

Ben was about to say, "Fine, don't tell me," when he felt a jab from his father calling for help. Vestara winced too, showing she had received it too. He was almost tempted to rub it in her face, but that would've wasted time. So, they both just ran as fast as they could to the airlock. Ben palmed the door open with the Force; his father was telling him to hurry. He didn't sense him in any danger, so the fight hadn't started yet. They ran out of the ship, going right. They followed the jab through the corridors, not paying much attention to the Fallanassi starting to follow them.

They finally came into a large room where the source of the distress was coming from. It was a long hall with columns lining the sides.At the end there was a stone throne with Abeloth sitting on it. They both stood there, rooted in place in horror. What really shocked them was Khai and Taalon standing in front of Abeloth so blankly.

**I've decided to end the story in five or six chapters, but that could turn into ten or fifteen if I get some more ideas. Review please?**


	10. Chapter 10

**I couldn't recall one of the appropriate Star Wars swears, so I just used the real life one. It kind of disrupts the flow, though.**

"F- Father, what is this? Why are you and Lord Taalon here?" Vestara said, composing herself after a few moments of gaping in shock. She did not bother to hide the stutter in her voice.

"Well, child, what do you think we are doing? Our alliance is over, it is time to kill the Skywalkers," Taalon said. Ben started backing away. "Don't try to leave, Skywalker." With a wave of his hand, tens of Fallanassi appeared in the doorway and lined the wall of that exit.

"Wait, but why are you standing with Abeloth? Aren't we trying to kill her?" Vestara said.

"We are controlling her, along with this ship. Now, hurry and kill the younger Skywalker," he said impatiently.

Vestara noticed that the likelihood of them alone gaining control of Abeloth was slim to none when hundreds of Sith couldn't. She also noticed that Taalon and her father were the ones that looked like Abeloth's subordinates.

Vestara stood her ground. "Ben." They shared a glance, and she jerked a thumb in Abeloth's direction. That was all Ben needed to know what she meant. They needed to save them from Abeloth's control, and for that they would need Luke for backup. Abeloth looked amused at their subliminal conversation.

"No, High Lord Taalon, Abeloth is controlling you," she said, rooting her feet in place, looking straight at Taalon. He would never take this insult, especially from such a lower rank, so she had to hurry the next words if she hoped to free him of Abeloth's control. "I know the real Taalon would never let his subordinate sit on the throne while he would have to stand. She is telling you what to do."

Taalon's head shifted. "You little bitch. _No one_ tells me what to do!" He started walking toward Vestara with pure hatred in his gaze. She had to use the Force to keep from shivering under his look. Khai stood Abeloth smiled triumphantly from her throne. She had played Vestara perfectly. She wouldn't even have to convince him to kill her. Vestara had set them up to kill each other. And now, Abeloth would be able to have Luke alone.

A few steps before Taalon was in striking distance, a Force blast shook the room, shaking the occupants. In the split second it took everyone to locate the source of the blast – Luke, now running through the Fallanassi – Taalon lunged at Vestara. Gavar Khai was simply rooted in place up until now, unable to betray either of his masters. Now, he started moving towards Luke. By the time she looked back, he was already about to slice her down the middle, and she barely brought her blade up in time to block it. Taalon, however, was able to transfer it to a slice down the middle of her. But by now, Ben had gotten to the side of her and was able to block it. Taalon turned to the intruder on this fight, as if personally affronted that anyone would dare block his kill, which he probably was. But, that had left Ben completely open to a side swing that would cut him in half. Taalon smiled victoriously.

Then, a huge scream resounded through the room. It had come from Abeloth. Luke had Force-blasted Gavar straight into a stone pillar across the room, where he slumped against the floor. Now, Luke was sprinting directly toward Abeloth, sending another burst of energy at her. It looked like Luke had caught her off-guard, she was screaming as she flew toward the back wall.

In Taalon's moment of weakness of looking at the new fight erupting, Vestara struck straight down at Taalon's head. Taalon slumped to the ground. Ben stared at her in shock.

"Shut up. He had to be taken out, or else Abeloth would be controlling the Sith." They started moving toward Abeloth to help Luke, who was now realizing Abeloth had tricked him into drawing him closer so she would be able to kill him easier. So, Luke did a Force assisted leap propelling his blade directly at her, and she parried. They started fighting furiously from behind the throne, with Luke taking most of the damage. When Abeloth noticed that Taalon had lost, she had called some Sith from somewhere within the ship. This was not going to end well for Vestara. Either way, she would be killed – by Sith or Fallanassi. And, their exit was still blocked.

"That's not what you were saying before," Ben said, grinning. He opened his mouth to say something, but Vestara cut him off.

"It's not _that_, you idiot," Vestara hissed.

"Hey guys, you mind flirting later?" Luke said from his battle with Abeloth.

They both blushed from where they were had stopped. Then, they started running towards Luke again.

Abeloth started pushing Luke back from where he had pinned her at the wall, making glancing blows on his arms and legs in the process. She had almost pushed his back to the throne when Ben and Vestara came around both sides. They both slashed at both of her sides, so she sidestepped right – moving out of the way of Ben's blade – and blocked left – blocking Vestara's strike. Luke then slashed at her center. Abeloth shifted her blade to block his. And then Ben's, and then Vestara's. But she was slowly being forced back. It looked like they would defeat Abeloth.

Now some of the Fallanassi and Sith started regaining control over themselves, since Abeloth was losing. They started to walk out of the room blindly, as if they were in a daze.

When Abeloth was five meters from the wall, she jumped back and Force-blasted a hole in the floor. "Oh no you don't," Luke said. All three of them jumped at her, and they struck all at the same time. She blocked Ben's blade, dodged Luke's, but Vestara's fell right on target, slicing her in half.

For a moment they stood there panting, contemplating their victory. Then, Vestara snapped up and said, "You two are now under Sith custody."

"You can't be serious," Ben said, looking straight at Vestara.

"Have I ever lied to you, Ben?" she said, completely seriously.

While Ben gave her a glare that likely would've killed any non-Force-user, Luke said, "Now Vestara, are you absolutely sure about this?" He made sure he would drag every syllable so his son would pick up on it. He gently started to poke the now semi-conscious Gavar Khai awake fully.

Vestara looked at him confusedly. "Yeah, Ves, I thought you liked me. Why else would you save me by killing your superior?" Ben cut in.

"What? That's crazy. I had to kill Lord Taalon, or else Abeloth would be controlling the Sith," Vestara retorted.

"What? Vestara? You killed Lord Taalon?" His face morphed from shock, terror, and anger all at once as he saw Taalon's corpse.

Vestara sighed and gave Luke and Ben a look of pure hatred, and turned to her father. "No, father. This is just a bad dream, go back to sleep." She sent a flick of her hand, and sent him slamming back into the wall, again rendering him unconscious.

"So, what's it gonna be Ves? Explain to the Sith why you killed Taalon and knocked out your father? Kill your father? Or help us escape?" Ben asked, grinning wickedly.

Vestara sighed.

**I thought this was a really bad chapter in some respects. Why? 1****st**** I'm just terrible with action scenes. 2****nd**** Does Abeloth even have a blade? I can't recall if she ever did or not, and I'm too lazy to read through the series again. So if not, just pretend for me. 3****rd**** and most importantly, I could not think of an ending transition to the next chapter to save my life, so I had to use some stuff from Vortex's end. I'm really sorry about that. But I'm at the same distance that the end of Vortex got us to(Except mine is more poorly written, has bad grammar, and has about two hundred pages less, and a different plot), so I shouldn't be able to do that, or need to (hopefully).**


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